Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Among the Thorns

The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. Mt 13

Unfruitful... Meaning not saved.

I wonder if this verse describes many of the people in American churches. I haven't attended mine in a couple Sundays because I've been sick... But the last time I was there I heard a sermon about grace that made me want to spit up on my shoes. Somehow narrowly preaching about grace to a group of lukewarm, proud, distracted, rich people seems a little irresponsible.

I would have felt better if the preacher had ended his sermon this way: "Now remember that you are the rich of the world and you need to examine yourselves... You know about the camel and the eye of the needle thing, so - who more than you - needs to work out his salvation with fear and trembling?"

While we are not saved by "works", works are the only indication as to whether we are saved, or we are just the seed that fell among the thorns. If we are saved, works will spring up... And we would be unable to quench those works even if we tried. I believe your "personal fruits" are the easiest way to gauge all this. If you start your day with Bible reading and on-your-knees prayer... If you take joy in tithing... If your conversations with Christian friends take on an excitement when they center on the Lord... If you are turning off your television and searching for entertainment that honors God... If day to day and year to year, you love the world less and seek the Kingdom more, and seek it first... If you're putting in quality and quantity time with God... ... ... I suspect your feet are on the path.

But if you comfortably go a day without praying... If your Bible is dusty... If the entertainment you choose is questionable... If your giving is based upon what's left over after you've purchased what you want... If a conversation about Jesus makes you want to whisper... If your faith is something you only do in church on Sunday... ... ... ... ... ... Good luck with that Grace thing!

Anyway, I wish the preacher would have warned, challenged, and encouraged... But everyone was having such a good time...

My personal goal is to humbly put in the time... To tremble...To progress... And surely Grace will cover the rest.

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5 comments:

Tsofah said...

Malott:

When Jesus said these words, the response of the disciples was "If the rich can't get into heaven, then who can?" (in todays venacular).

Just as they thought the rich were automatically going to heaven, many today assume the rich are going to hell. Both rich and poor were among the followers of Jesus then, and now.

I've known saints and sinner among rich and poor and what impresses me is their heart. G-d's grace is a marvelous thing.

Believe it or not, I think Chris Daughtry (yes, THAT Daughtry) put it well in his "thank you" comments:

"I wanna thank: G-d for giving me the gift of music and the life experiences that inspired the majority of this record, Jesus for loving me even when I'm a screw up."

We all need G-d grace, His salvation, and his discipline.

8/12/2009 1:51 PM
Malott said...

Tsofah,

I understand what you're saying, and I agree that there are many rich, saved people.

I believe that it is harder for the rich to enter Heaven because there are many more pitfalls for them. It's easier for them to be independent of God, to be materialistic, lukewarm, and proud, to be selfish, distracted, and it is less likely that they will take up their cross daily.

Rich believers need to be told the score. Some churches do that better than others.

The sacrifice that was made on the cross is greater than any individual's sin, but many believers and church-goers will hear the frightening words, "I never knew you."

But if we are truly His, we will seek Him first, we will be fruitful, and we will be saved by grace.

I think we agree on this subject far more than we disagree, sister.

8/12/2009 4:03 PM
SkyePuppy said...

Chris,

One of my Breads for next week is based on this verse:

II Corinthians 5:20b “We urge you, as though Christ himself were here pleading with you. ‘Be reconciled to God!’” (NLT)

I see two sides of this, and they apply to your post. First, Paul was writing TO THE CHURCH at Corinth. There are unsaved, unreconciled people who belong to the church. It has been this way from the beginning.

Second, we need to have the same sense of urgency that Paul did for the lost and thorn-choked. It sounds like you have that, probably more than the preacher does (unless this was his Sunday to take a break from urgency).

Sounds like you're doing what you can: fear, tremble, and pray the people at your church haven't become innoculated against genuine faith. Maybe even talk to some of them about it sometime... (Easily said by Little Miss Scaredy-Pants, I know)

8/13/2009 1:36 PM
Tsofah said...

Malott:

Of course we have a lot in common! Just building upon your posting!

8/13/2009 10:22 PM
Grammy said...

I know everyone has probably moved on from this, but I had to think long and hard about it. I'm taking a class you may have heard of called Financial Peace University by Dave Ramsey. He makes the statement that money is amoral. It just exists and we have to deal with it. It's how we deal with it that counts. It's pretty obvious to me that money has nothing to do with how sinful or distracted from the Lord a person is and it certainly doesn't have anything to do with happiness. The poor can be just as distracted by the lure of money and the cars of the world as people who have an abundance. A rich, generous and devout soul is a beautiful thing and a blessing to many. Paul said it's best to have enough money that it's just not a distraction either way and to be content with what you have. You may remember Rich Mullins - the prolific Christian songwriter with a deep passion for the Lord and the poor. He told his business manager that he wanted to make $40,000 a year and anything else was to pay his business bills and be given away to the poor. He didn't want to know how much money he generated or how much he gave away. It was a lot. Interestingly, he wrote a song about wanting to go up in a blaze of glory like Elijah and he died in a fiery car crash, but I digress.

I agree that as a culture, we are materialistic and the rich and poor among us are spiritually numbed by it. The rich are distracted by the crap they have and the poor are distracted by the crap they want. In the end we are all sinners saved by grace.

8/17/2009 12:44 AM

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